Toronto’s Hot Docs Taps Leading U.S. Media Executive Marie Nelson as President

variety.com:

Jennie Punter As its industry confab kicks into full gear, Hot Docs is giving 1,800-plus delegates from more than 40 countries something extra to chatter about this morning with the announcement that leading media executive Marie Nelson has been tapped as the organization’s new president after a months-long international search.

Nelson—who mingled with local and international doc players at the opening bash of the festival’s 30th edition last Thursday—will begin helming the strategic leadership and management of Hot Docs’ annual festival, conference, and market as well as its evolving year-round industry and public activities and initiatives, effective June 1, 2023. “Having the chance to link arms with Hot Docs was an unequivocal swipe right—from my first trip to Toronto for the festival and its legendary pitch forum, it was love at first sight,” commented Nelson, who most recently served as senior vice-president, integrated content strategy for ABC News. “Hot Docs has earned its reputation as a beacon for the global documentary filmmaking community and their audiences by fostering a sense of home and supporting the best in the genre year-round.

I am so energized to begin working with my colleagues at Hot Docs to continue innovating and building an even more inclusive and dynamic future for our storytellers.” Before her game-changing tenure at ABC News—where she led a strategy that prioritized audience-diversifying, non-fiction primetime programming such as the award-winning series “Soul of a Nation”—Nelson was vice-president for news and independent film at PBS, overseeing programming for documentary series such as Frontline, Independent Lens and POV.